Digital divide and adolescents in Guinea-Bissau

23 December, 2020

I and collaborators in Iceland and Guinea-Bissau recently published an open-access article on adolescents´ access to digital technology in Guinea-Bissau, https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/23/8937/htm

In short, half of randomly selected survey respondents aged 14-19 years attending school in the capital Bissau had experience of either a desktop and/or laptop, one-third used mobile internet daily and about two-thirds had an experience of social media. Evidently, access improvements are necessary so that young Bissau-Guineans are not left behind in developing their capabilities to benefit from proficiency in the use of digital technologies, and it is likely they share this experience with many peers on the continent. This digital divide has become still more urgent to address during the pandemic. What is your experience?

Regards,

Geir Gunnlaugsson MD, PhD, MPH

Tjarnargata 16

IS-101 Reykjavik

Iceland

mobile+354-843 6237

https://english.hi.is/staff/geirgunnlaugsson

CHIFA profile: Geir Gunnlaugsson is Professor of Global Health at the University of Iceland. He graduated with a medical diploma (MD) from this university with post-graduate training in paediatrics (PhD) and public health (MPH) at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Research and publications on, e.g., breastfeeding, infant and child mortality, child development and abuse, measles, cholera, and health systems in Iceland, Guinea-Bissau and Malawi. He was the General Secretary of ISSOP International Society for Social Pediatrics and Child Health in 2009-2017, and currently chairman of Africa 20:20 an Icelandic NGO to promote interest and knowledge on sub-Saharan Africa.